{"id":294556,"date":"2010-10-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/view-from-52-imagine-all-the-people-sharing-all-the-world\/"},"modified":"2010-10-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2010-10-21T07:00:00","slug":"view-from-52-imagine-all-the-people-sharing-all-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/view-from-52-imagine-all-the-people-sharing-all-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"View from 52: Imagine all the people sharing all the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine no possessions\/I wonder if you can\/No need for greed or hunger\/A brotherhood of man\/Imagine all the people\/Sharing all the world\u2026\/You may say I\u2019m a dreamer\/But I\u2019m not the only one\/ I hope someday you\u2019ll join us\/And the world will live as one. \u2014 “Imagine” by John Lennon John Lennon would have turned 70 on Oct. 9 if he had been able to dodge the bullets of insane Mark David Chapman who now resides in Attica State Prison in New York. On Monday, Dec. 8, 1980, the light of life went out of Lennon. Thirty years later, Americans cannot imagine what has happened to our country, our world. On Nov. 2, many of us will walk to our neighborhood voting poll, chat with the dedicated volunteers and choose whom we want to lead us and what propositions we wish to endorse. If only it were that simple to imagine\u2026 “The only good thing is that Election Day, the first Tuesday of November, is on the second instead of the seventh,” my friend commented. “At least we\u2019ll be done with those awful incendiary commercials from both parties.” She\u2019s right, of course, and she\u2019s not alone. “Things are never so bad they can\u2019t be made worse,” is a line from the movie “African Queen,” and it fits this election season. Maybe John Lennon would have written an even better song than “Imagine,” to help us get through these times where it keeps getting worse. People ask if this is the best we can do as Americans? Are these the best candidates we can produce for governor of California? Are these the best senatorial candidates? Are we ready to vote for a proposition on legalizing marijuana, Prop 19, knowing full well that the federal government won\u2019t allow it? I think I know how Lennon would vote on this one, if he were with us and lived in California. Beyond our California borders, other states are dealing with similar crises; greed and partisanship know no borders. Locally, Prop D has divided the community. Next Sunday is Halloween and the scariest horror stories are coming from the leaders of the city as they visit communities to describe what will happen to close a $70 million budget gap. Increasing the city\u2019s sales tax by a half-cent for the next five years is a must for this team or else it\u2019s death to libraries, park and rec, pothole repair and fire pits. If it passes, the city will collect an additional $102 million. And San Diego\u2019s reward for the voters in favor of Prop D? No cuts, of course. In a Union Tribune article, Councilman Carl DeMaio is quoted as saying: “Halloween has come early in San Diego \u2026 They\u2019re trying to scare people into giving money. It doesn\u2019t take a rocket scientist to realize that the ghoulish screenplay has been written by a bunch of political consultants and they\u2019re using city staff.” Whom do you believe before you make your vote? Is the scary scenario a political tool? Remember two stories from your childhood: “Chicken Little, the sky is falling” and “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” \u2014 or are we at the end of our rope with no way to hang on? Are pensions vetted and can\u2019t be legally challenged or can they be challenged? Why is it the libraries, park and rec, fire and police always take the first hit. Emotionally, the voter is directly impacted when a library is shuttered, a swimming pool is closed and a rec center hangs out a “closed” sign. The popular fire pits are also on the chopping block. Is the term “efficient government: an oxymoron? Why was there a planned budget town hall meeting (Oct. 18 at University City High School) instead of a debate with Councilman DeMaio and Councilman Faulconer presenting their arguments against Proposition D? The lineup for the budget town hall meeting included Chief Operating Officer Jay Goldstone, Chief Financial Officer Mary Lewis, Deputy Chief Operating Officer of Public Works Dave Jarrell, Police Chief William Lansdowne, Fire Chief Javier Mainar, Library Director Deborah Barrow and Park and Recreation Director Stacey LoMedico to discuss proposed changes to the city\u2019s Fiscal Year 2012 budget with the community. These city staffers, under the direction of Mayor Sanders and City Council supporters, probably not Carl DeMaio and Kevin Faulconer, will not need scary Halloween music to accompany their story telling. These cuts would frighten any tax-paying San Diegan: closure of two libraries, rolling brownouts for the rest of the libraries, indefinite closure of 12 of 13 public pools, nin rec centers, two visitor centers, two gyms. Besides those cuts, other proposed ones include ending the life of fire pits, laying off 25 in Park and Rec, slashing hours of the rec center from 40 to 20 hours. There are more, but I want to make sure you get to one of these budget meetings to hear them live. The next one is on Monday, Oct. 25, 2010 at Point Loma High School Auditorium, 2335 Chatsworth Blvd., 6 to 7 p.m. Lennon\u2019s 1968 “Revolution” might be sung on Nov. 3 after the votes are counted across the country. He and Paul McCartney wrote: You say you got a real solution Well, you know We\u2019d all love to see the plan. You ask me for a contribution Well you know We\u2019re doing what we can. But when you want money for people with minds that hate, Don\u2019t you know it\u2019s gonna be alright Alright Alright. EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: See the Village News report on the city\u2019s town hall regarding the San Diego budget Oct. 18 at University City HIgh School.<\/i>